Legend of Zelda Timeless Sea
by AdoKina
Summary: It is modern Hyrule- the humble Zelda is the only Hylian left in Hyrule. Or is she? Link returns in a highly unexpected incarnation- a giant merman! Contains ZeLink and fluff.
1. A Frantic Encounter

There is a tale in Hyrule that has lived on for centuries- one of a heroic boy and a legendary blade that vanquished the land of evil for countless generations.

This boy was often the bearer of a legendary gift from the Goddesses- the Triforce of Courage; symbolized by the sacred triangle mark on his hand. He was always of Hylian blood…

But the Hylians have long since dwindled in number. An era of peace has been lasting for over 5 centuries since the last bearer of the Triforce of Courage existed, and humans have become the dominant species of Hyrule.

The era of peace is about to come to an abrupt end- but with only one Hylian left, who can possibly save Hyrule now?

The answer lies in the Great Sea… a world uncorrupted by time's cruel fate.

The Legend of Zelda; Timeless Sea

The sand of unyielding waters- smooth and fine; gave birth to a monstrous hulk of a creature tonight. By the light of the moon, erupting from the white foamy waves, a beast emerged with a ravenous gasp, a heavy splutter as its flesh leaked crimson.

With shaky tension, it hauled itself atop the sand of the beach, the lithe arms, once dangerously steady, now beaten and sporadic. Ashamed of the dark trail left behind it, the unknown creature hauled its entire bulk out of the white waves; collapsed with a raspy thud on the cool sand.

The beach was empty; quiet. The beast heaved heavy breaths and lay motionless there, it's strength neither rising or falling. Sheer rock walls amassed in front of it, running along the beach length. Port side- a clever staircase arose amidst the rock, a structure stood proudly in the night, its yellow lights dim.

Hopeful.

Amidst a curious display of solid machinery, brute figures wrought from steel, a pretty thing stood out. Her long brown hair tumbled down her light but firm shoulders, crowning her elegant facial features that made her skin glow warmly. And with a lock tucked behind her ears, her true nature was revealed.

A gentle point to the top of her pale ear's helix, almost like a light pinching- pointed ears of the ancient Hylian race.

These were the gentle Zelda's attributes- a fine girl. Her heart was as pure as her looks.

A warm sigh she breathed- she adjusted her spectacles and swiveled off her chair, gracefully snatching up her knapsack from the floor, zippering it shut as she walked to the door. A warm smile to another in the room- older, wise.

"Good evening, Professor." She said as she strode through the door, her hands pushing the handle down firmly and swaying the door open. The spectacled professor nodded with a gentle smile of his own. "Good night, Zelda. Drive safely." The Hylian giggled politely. "Of course, Professor. I can make it a couple miles down the road; no worries." And she exited the building.

The very building that overlooked the mangled beast, one who erupted from the waves in a painful tremor not 24 hours beforehand.

The Great Sea glistened with a warm sunset as Zelda walked to her car. She had seen the sight so often working at the laboratory as a marine biologist- the sun over the water. But no matter how many times she saw it, she was always fascinated for a look after work, which was done at a very nice time at sunset almost every day.

Her bag on her shoulder, she leaned against the railing of the rock cliff that amassed across the beach. Her blue eyes were glowing with the moving fire of the ocean reflected in them. So peaceful… the sunset. The glowing ball seemed to take all the troubles of the day with it as it sunk into the horizon.

Oh, troubles indeed. Work was slow at the laboratory- it was about time the team went out on another field trip to gather data.

A gentle sigh- Zelda scanned the pretty, orange water below. Red mixed with orange, and then white at the cresting waves on the beach, which reflected wetly an orange color of its own.

Zelda peered at the beach a little harder. Funny- she didn't remember a rock being there. A rather large rock, it looked like, too.

Gentle features creased in puzzlement. There were never rocks on that beach. So why was there a huge, dark mass in the sand?

Excited now, she grinned. Something must have washed ashore!

Her feet padded swiftly down the stairs towards the beach below. As she got closer, she was more and more curious about this thing- what could it be? Driftwood? A boat? What she really hoped for was a creature!

Feet on the sand now, Zelda adjusted her glasses, tilting her head away from the glare of the setting sun to her right. The mass was still unidentifiable- she had to get closer. So she jogged a little; excited.

Her heart was in her throat, now- the thing was definitely not a non-living object.

It had scales all over.

"Nayru…" she breathed, crouching down, eyes wide. Scales, large but smooth. Several fins jutted out, a little torn- the thing's flesh was torn as well in areas.

It didn't appear to be alive. She walked right up to it, curious about the blonde, hair-like strands at the supposed head of the creature.

Hair? On a sea-creature?

No. Not just hair- skin. Nicely-tanned skin, at that- and human.

Yet the thing was absolutely enormous.

Red with excitement, she contemplated calling Professor Bluff right then and there to tell him. But she wanted a closer look, just in case. So she knelt down at the creature's head, delicate hands running along the wet, golden strands of hair.

"Human hair…" She looked over the thing's enormous shoulders at the rest of the body. "…and fish scales…?" She giggled nervously. "…a merman?" She absent-mindedly stroked the creature's wet hair. Looking down now, she saw that indeed, large human arms extended from the beast- the head was face-down in the sand. Was this thing even alive?

Zelda courageously ran her hands on the supposed merman- down where his face would be. As his hair cascaded at her touch, she gasped when a she caught sight of something more remarkable on him then the rest of his body.

He was a Hylian.

Zelda admired his ears with newfound fascination. Amazing- she had never seen other Hylian ears besides her own. As she looked at them, she didn't realize that she was evidently leaning on his big head.

A groan elicited from the merman, and Zelda was frozen in place quite suddenly. His head shifted a little, and she held back a squeal- she didn't expect him to move, or even be alive!

Link snorted suddenly. Groaning in puzzlement, he lifted his face out of the sand, growling softly at the warm little thing that was tugging his hair- its legs in his vision. He was sore all over- especially his neck. He could barely lift his head, let alone his arms, to touch the little creature on his forehead.

No need- it got off on its own.

Zelda was shaky with startlement at the growls and movement. She slid off hastily and tumbled backwards, falling on her rump with a little "eep". She winced at the pain of the blunt sand, but she looked up, seeing a startling large male face looking at her. Pretty blue eyes- they were dark and sharp, the color of the ocean. They danced lightly, scouring her body. Then they softened, for some reason.

Link was ultimately surprised to see a human right in front of his nose. She looked right at him, her small bright eyes, with a look of fear. He twitched his lips, looking her over- such a delicate body she had. His eyes softened, and he deemed her to not be a threat. But what was she doing on his head before this?

Groaning softly with ache, he pulled himself up on his arms, towering over the little human on the sand beneath him- she squeaked a little at his stature. Stiffly, he smoothed a hand through his hair, then his face, frowning at the sand that covered it. He stuck his tongue out and spit some grains from his mouth.

The human girl stood up now right under him, looking at him with awe. Normally, Link would ignore humans- but this one seemed… special. He put his attention on her again, looking at her with curiosity- her gentle features, and soft, long hair.

He couldn't help but stare.

Zelda was utterly fascinated at Link- his whole body was completely out of the ordinary and mystical. He hadn't said anything yet, though, and she wondered if he could talk- this whole time, she also kept forgetting to call Professor Bluff about her discovery.

"Are you alright?" She asked him now, and noticed dried blood and cuts on him now that she was looking for them. He was really beat up. Link looked at her with slight surprise, as if he didn't expect her to start talking.

Link felt a little ashamed, now- no one had ever talked to him before. He didn't even know what she was saying. You? He knew that… she was talking about him, alright, but…

He pursed his lips sheepishly and looked down, then up at her again. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what word he should use. Come to think of it, he only really knew how to say his name.

Zelda's look softened when she saw him struggle for words. She nodded knowingly, fixing her glasses nervously and straightened up. "That's okay. I can see that you're hurt. You're in luck, my friend- you're right next to the place I work at; a marine research lab!" She beamed, standing up now and back to gaze at him further.

Link coughed a little, eyes wide. Her words blew right over his head. Ashamed further, he looked away, tucking his arms under his chest to relieve their stretch.

Zelda was disdained by an awkward silence. Blue eyes tingling, she made a small noise with her mouth, attempting to whimper. How odd… was he purposely ignoring her? Or did he really have no idea what she was saying? She had to make sure.

"Mister?" She said, and Link pricked his ears a little, just so she knew he was still listening. He concentrated on the sand, which suddenly became rather fascinating. Zelda cleared her throat. "Please, uh, look at me if you know what I'm saying."

Link recognized a little of her words, but no more. He looked at her slightly- not enough to see her clearly, but enough for her to be in his vision. Zelda sighed. Now what? She couldn't even communicate with him.

At a loss, she dialed up the professor's number and talked to him- her excitement was a little beaten down by now.

As she did so, Link groaned in pain. Geeze, that thing really dug into his ribs back there. His face scrunched up in agony as he rolled heavily onto his back and groaned, his tail curling up a little next to him in reflex, as one clenches his fist in hurt.

The phone call to the professor was short- he was on his way down already. But Zelda hung up fast so she could see what was wrong with the aquatic humanoid. "Oh Goddesses!" She exclaimed, fixing her glasses and rushing to his side as he trembled, breathing raggedly in the warm sunset. She hastily ran her clammy hands on his tender side, feeling his skin tremble immediately at her touch. Link breathed a growl involuntarily and glared at her, arms stiff, not wanting to lash out and hit her.

The girl felt her spine tingle at the sound he made, and she trembled a little, feeling her knees get weak. "I'm s-sorry," she spluttered, gulping nervously as he continued still to seethe in agony. "But I have to find out what's wrong with you!" She placed her hands on his trembling body, making his tail whip fiercely close to her.

"Easy, easy!" she yelled, startled, scared. Link had now placed his hands on the ground and thrust his face right up to her, teeth bared. Stupid girl- didn't she know that he didn't want her to touch him? His blue eyes were fierce with rage, and his finned tail flicked dangerously, splashing into the water of high tide.

Zelda jumped away immediately, seeing this wild young man react so threateningly. She felt so crushed by his malevolence- so much that she almost started crying. She felt weak again- and she involuntarily fell over on her side, dazed, breathing irrationally. Why was he acting this way towards her? She never did anything to him…

Then again, he was behaving exactly like an injured animal. She had to assume- even though he was quite human, he was just too wild to even understand her words. He didn't even want her TOUCHING him.

'I have no reason to feel hurt by him.' She reasoned. 'He's acting almost purely out of instinct. I have to treat him as I would an injured whale, or shark.' And at that, she got up with newfound confidence.

The professor was already speedily down the stairs- the look on his face mirrored to her first expression at the sight of the merman. "By the gods!" He said, fixing is glasses as he looked at the restless creature. "This is something that has never even turned up in history books!" He looked at Zelda with awe, who breathed a sigh of excitement. "He's very hurt, professor. But more so, he's extremely wild- please don't go near him!" Bluff nodded.

"I see." He said, and walked a little ways closer to Link, who was watching the two with clouded eyes. He perked up a little as the newcomer approached. "Hello there." Bluff said to him, and Link just sighed. Another one trying to talk to him? He wasn't in the mood for their babble. "I am professor Bluff. I see you are in need of assistance. Will you allow me to take you under my wing next door, to heal you?" He asked Link cheerfully, and Zelda watched with intent.

Miffed, Link just looked away, at the rocks ahead, annoyed at the humans. He was much too tired to bother with them- if they didn't leave him alone soon, he'd have to go to more extreme measures to get them to leave him in peace to die.

For the god's sake, he just wanted to die quietly!

When Link did not answer Bluff's question, he stood up and straightened his spectacles, and turned with a smile to Zelda. "He did not say no. So now we can be free to tranquilize him and use any means necessary to help the poor creature." Zelda nodded, pursing her lips. "Excellent, professor. But I have a question- how are you going to get close enough to him to inject him?"

Bluff left the question hanging as he fumbled through his bag and took out a firearm-like object and a bottle with a syringe dart. Zelda's lips formed a perfect "O" of surprise, and she bent down to look as Bluff filled the dart with the correct amount of fluid.

"I'd say he weighs about, what, 8 tons? 8 and a half?" He looked at her briefly, and she nodded a slight approval. He measured out the fluid and put the dart in the gun. Then he stood up, adjusted his aim at the merman, stepping a little closer to get a good shot.

Link saw the firearm aimed at him, and furrowed his brow. What, so they were going to try to kill him now? Perfect. As much as he would have loved a quick death by a bullet, the gun was much too small to kill him from that distance. The merman poised himself, watching, as Bluff stood there aiming, then cocked the gun and shot it.

There was hardly a noise, and immediately Link felt a sting on his neck. Baring his teeth, he put a hand on the spot, gasping inwardly when he felt a small dart sticking out from his skin. He pulled it out to look at it, confused, but otherwise, he felt no pain, just a small sting.

And then he felt tired, all of a sudden.

Moaning, he heaved a sigh and felt the need to rest his head on the sand. He did so, looking at the two humans, hearing them talk, then felt his arms and body go limp and calm as he fell into a deep, deep sleep.


	2. Innocent Healing

It was increasingly difficult to get a team together after the merman was sedated for transport- everyone had already gone home after work, and grumpy voices resounded on the phone when Bluff called them all back. Their disdain was instantly lifted, however, at the sight of the creature that was now their duty to help.

With great luck, the tide was at its highest peak by the time everyone was ready to transport the beast. His thick tail was in the waves now- the water reached up to his skin. Bluff instructed Brent Marx, their captain, to back into the water behind the creature while they tied straps around the sedated, big body. Then, gently, the boat putted forward, pulling the 8 ton leviathan all the way into the water.

With the aid of the water that made most everything weightless, the lab team was able to wrap a stretcher around the merman and pull him onto the boat. It was a short trip to the lab's dock, and the boat was again backed into the indoor "boat garage".

Zelda watched from the concrete sides (she wasn't part of the rescue team- she was the veterinarian) as Bluff instructed the team who walked along the sides, pulling the stretcher off the boat and through the channel that was built for moving sea creatures into the lab.

It was a difficult process, but the team was specialized in the act and they were equally energized by the sight of the aquatic humanoid.

Link was now fully lying on the cement of the lab, under the large ceiling where the rehabilitation too place. Still quite deep in sedation, Zelda could now excitedly examine him. Just what exactly was he?

The now helpless rescue team looked on as Zelda and the other biologists went to work. Making sure he wasn't going to wake up during the examination, which would be disastrous, they injected a small dose of the tranquilizer into him to be safe.

Wires were stuck onto his chest area with suction cups to monitor his blood pressure. Zelda used her small stethoscope to hear his large heart beat. She pursed her lips, however, realizing something.

Zelda was a veterinarian, not a doctor.

"Professor." She said, making him look up from his thoughtful stance. "I'm not trained in medicine in human bodies… maybe we should find a doctor for him instead?" She said as she put her stethoscope around her neck.

Bluff laughed. "No doctor will come around this late for something other than an illness. They wouldn't believe us anyway, if we told them what we wanted them to help. Human bodies aren't entirely different from the aquatic mammals you've been studying, Zelda." The girl bit her lip. "But… what if I do something wrong? I-I don't want to give him the wrong treatment or something…" She stuttered, looking at the shallow breathing of Link's chest. It was mesmerizing, seeing his large body, just living.

"You won't. Just give it a try." Bluff smiled, looking at Link as well. "It's not like you're performing surgery on him."

Zelda nodded with slight approval. Well, that much was right. But if surgery was necessary, the merman would be in trouble.

She began looking over him again, focusing more on his fish tail than his torso. Running her hands on his smooth blue scales, she whisked some water away from his skin and pressed her hand to him. He felt slightly warm- not like human skin, but not as cold as fish. Intrigued, she ran her hand up his body until she felt human skin.

No temperature difference.

"He appears to be a mix between warm and cold-blood." She said softly, though Bluff could hear her. "Yes…" he mused, putting a finger to his skin as well. "Well, he IS mammal and fish combined. It's only natural that his blood type is a stable mix." Zelda nodded.

Stepping over his big arm, she now focused on the wounds that dug deep into his skin. She traced the open tissue across his torso, noticing that it ran under him, onto his back. Another line accompanied it, a couple meters down his body. Zelda gasped.

They were bite marks.

She stood in the middle of the jaw's outline, gulping at how large the mouth was that bit him. "Farore…" she mumbled. Whatever did this was bigger than anything she could think of. Heck, it could eat her in one gulp.

Zelda was on one side of Link, while Bluff and the few others were writing down notes together on a clipboard, a ways away on the other side. She didn't want to call them over yet, until she was sure that the wound was indeed from teeth. She bent down next to him- his body completely hid her from the others with its great size, and she stuck her fingers in his wounds.

Immediately, the humanoid's muscles rippled as if he was electrocuted. Zelda withheld a scream; she was completely startled. Whoa… she didn't expect him to move when he was….

…sedated…

Wobbling to her feet, all she could hear was the sound of his breathing. Warped voices barely reached her as she turned slowly to her left, towards his breathing. Her gaze was met with two of the fiercest eyes she ever saw.

He was awake.

Zelda didn't dare alert the others. With her eyes locked on his, (uncontrollably, really- she was frozen in his stare) the girl held her breath and began backing away from him. Link's eyes narrowed. He meant to move his hand out of the way, but-

Zelda fell backwards, her heel hitting his wrist. Link saw this and quickly lifted up his hand so that she leaned on him, and he tilted her back onto her feet.

Astonished, Zelda became stiff. She felt a little dizzy, and almost fell over again save for that the merman again held her up effortlessly. She heard a small chuckle elicit from him, and she smiled a little as well.

"Uh, thank you…" she said quietly, still trapped in his gaze, which was softer now. Then he looked away, at the ceiling, at the walls, a look of concerned puzzlement on his face. Before Zelda could react, Link suddenly ripped off the wires on his chest, making the others look up in startlement.

"Whoa! He's awake!" Professor Bluff yelled, backing away when the powerful tail started lashing, the merman flipping onto his front and pulling himself up on his arms. Everyone started shouting excitedly, gaining distance from the wild beast as he took in his surroundings and displayed threats at the same time.

Link meant to scare them away with his antics. But he didn't think of the surface he was on- the rough, hard concrete. In fact, he had never felt a surface like this before- certainly, he never laid on something so hard. Evidently, he was bleeding; his wounds ruptured from his sudden movements- scraped on the rough cement surface.

Zelda was backed against the wall, trying to avoid the powerful, lashing tail. Link had forgotten about her, or at least ignored her, while with fresh cuts and anger, started lashing out with his hands at the other people, who were shouting. "Stop it, we're trying to help you!" One yelled. The words blew over Link's head.

Link was blinded by instinct. He was trapped in a walled place, surrounded by noisy little people that had stuck small lines into his skin. He remembered blacking out not too long ago, realizing that he had awoken in this place afterwards. They had brought him here- and their intentions were grave. They were going to torture him to death, for sure. He had already tried scaring them away- it didn't work, because they were still bunched up in the far corner, making noises.

He smelled water. If he couldn't scare them off, then he'd just have to leave.

Turning onto his back, he brought his tail up towards him, then threw it down on the ground and launched himself forward. He ended up diving headfirst into the water in front of him, his belly painfully smacking the side of the surface as he dove under with a splash.

He didn't know that the water had walls, however.

Professor Bluff and the others stood up, still shaking. Bluff sighed in slight relief, looking into the wavy water. "Well… that takes care of the problem of getting him in the water." The others looked at him with crazed puzzlement.

Zelda noted the blood on the cement where the merman just was. "Oh no…" She murmured, creeping forth from her secure place next to the wall. "Fresh blood." She looked toward the large saltwater containment pool where the merman disappeared into, and shivered.

Link thrust forward with his pained tail, brow furrowed. He aimed to keep swimming, but there was something blocking the way. Something HUGE.

He slowed down, placing his large hands on the surface. Bubbles erupted from his mouth in angered surprise. It was the same material that cut him up before jumping in here! What WAS this place?

He swam along the wall, looking for a break to escape through. The wall just kept going and going, all the way around, save for a thick metal grating that evidently was closed off after the humans used it to bring him in from the boat. It seemed to be the only way out.

With new determination, the aquatic beast had grasped the grating in his hands and tried wrenching it free. It was surprisingly strong, for human-make.

He looked around again, despaired, at the saltwater prison. He was completely closed in. He couldn't pull himself onto the surface, because the ground cut up his belly. Frowning, he looked down at his body that oozed crimson into the water. He swallowed. What a cruel place. Now he wished he had tried harder to scare those humans off before they shot him and brought him here.

He sensed a presence on the ground above him. Looking up, he saw the silhouette of a person, looking into the water at him.

Link breathed out a growl. Those little bastards… looking down at him as if they owned him. Perhaps that was their motive- they wanted to keep him as a pet in this aquatic chamber.

As if that would ever happen.

Furious, the merman sped for the surface, breaking through with a terrible splash, his snatching the person lightning fast. He aimed to drown the human right then and there- at least drag them under for a little bit and allow them to experience the prison themselves. Even though he always avoided hurting people…oh, just a little drowning. Until all the air was squeezed out of them. Perhaps he could go the whole nine-yards and eat them.

Well, no, that would be gross.

He got a good look at them before he attempted to drag them under. He looked, then looked harder. Then he gasped.

He was holding the innocent girl that had so cutely fallen over him earlier. Her long hair was a little spiky with wetness, her clothes damp. She looked…terrified. Link gulped. Well, of course she would be… anyone would be scared in her position. But… there was something about her that told him she was pure. That she had no bad intentions- in fact, everything about her leaked goodness.

"Zelda!" People were yelling. Link turned away from her (rather reluctantly) and saw them all worried for the girl. Zelda… that was her name. Strange- it was familiar. More importantly, he could see how concerned they were for her safety. He sighed. Perhaps people weren't all that bad…

Link looked back at his captive, who pleaded him with her gentle eyes. Oh goddesses, she made his heart melt.

Lip quivering, the merman sighed gently, then lifted her out of the water and placed her on the concrete. His ears were drooped- all the energy suddenly drained out of him. The shouts had stopped, and everything was quiet now.

Except for the sweet song that rang through the air.

Link stared at her with newfound intrigue, eyes wide. The girl he was previously going to destroy was smiling her innocence, her light fingers clutching a small, golden flute, her fingertips dancing on the instrument as she blew into it and played an ancient tune. The humans who looked onward were even affected by it, even though they had no knowledge of the song.

But Link did.

It was the Song of Healing.

He shut his eyes amidst his striped face and listened, his breathing calming. The ancient melody swept the room, perfectly played, not a note missed. Zelda, steady and graceful, played the melody a couple times over on the little flute. Bluff and the others were enraptured by it.

When it was over, Link trembled a little. He felt numb- but strangely fresh. He breathed out a sigh, then opened his eyes, meeting them with Zelda, who smiled at him and placed the flute in her pocket.

The room was silent for a little, the two Hylians' gazes unwavering. Something seemed to pass between them during the time of silence. Then Zelda spoke.

"We're helping you." She said clearly. Strangely, Link could almost fully understand it. He nodded gently, looking down, away from her. "What is your name?" She then asked, and he looked up at her with his deep, blue eyes.

"I'm Link."


End file.
